The transition from Law Enforcement Offer to conducting a trauma-informed, victim-based interview can be difficult. Knowing how to interview victims and suspects of sex trafficking is the foundation to conducting a successful trafficking investigation from initial contact to prosecution. Most Officers, especially those that are new to sex trafficking investigations, have not been equipped with the necessary tools to conduct a successful interview in this type of investigation. This presentation will arm Officers with techniques designed to circumvent the need to “be the police” when dealing with victims of sex trafficking. This presentation will discuss constitutional legal parameters that an Officer needs to be knowledgeable of when conducting interviews. Finally, this presentation will outline questions that need to guide a trafficking interview in order to get an arrest of the trafficker to provide justice to the victim. Attendees to this presentation should not just be limited to Law Enforcement Personnel. This presentation will provide helpful insight to any individual or organization that works with police to combat human trafficking. Detective Jones is no stranger to working with non-governmental organizations as he currently serves on the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance. HTRA is an interagency organization with several NGOs and law enforcement agencies teaming together to combat trafficking from all angles.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss the need to get away from a traditional police mindset

·  Discuss Miranda as it applies to trafficking interviews

·  Describe tools and questions to guide a sex trafficking interview to be useful for an investigation

·  List investigative techniques that can be performed prior to an interview to assist in a successful interview

·  Provide insight to the mind of a police officer conducting an interview

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Researchers conducted voluntary face-to-face interviews with women incarcerated in a Southern state prison (n=83) regarding their health, quality of life, and justice-related experiences using a cross-sectional approach. PTS severity was captured using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 with Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (Weathers et al., 2013). Traumatic experiences of current focus include sexual assault; other unwanted or uncomfortable sexual experiences; and captivity. Quality of life (QOL) was captured using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale-BREF (Bonomi, Patrick, Bushnell, & Martin, 2000). Independent sample t-tests identified significant differences of PTS severity and QOL among women who self-reported having experienced the above traumas directly and those who did not report direct experiences. Women who reported experiencing these traumatic experiences reported significantly higher average PTS severity than their non-affected counterparts (r= .28 - .40). Women who reported experiencing unwanted sexual experiences or captivity also reported significantly lower environmental QOL than their non-affected peers (r=.30 - .35). Significant relationships between having enough money to meet one’s needs and sexual assault (r=-.33, p=.002), other unwanted sexual experiences (r=-.28., p=.01), and captivity (r=-.32, p=.003) may indicate that financial security serves as a mediator of trauma and QOL among women incarcerated in state prisons. Implications related to vocational training and job opportunities in carceral settings for women will be discussed, within the context of key trauma-informed care principles. Dr. Amber McDonald, part-time faculty at the University of Louisville Kent’s School of Social Work, is a contributing author of this presentation.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Provide an overview of a study exploring relationships among traumatic experiences, post-traumatic stress (PTS), and quality of life (QOL) among women incarcerated in a state prison system (N=83).

·  Describe relationships between traumatic experiences, PTS, and QOL

·  Showcase findings regarding sexual assault or other unwanted or uncomfortable sexual experiences, captivity, PTS, and QOL among a sample of women incarcerated in a state prison system

·  Discuss practice implications related to primary study findings

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Recovering Individuals from Sexual Exploitation (R.I.S.E.) is a program of The Salvation Army in Northwest Ohio that seeks to empower survivors of trafficking and exploitation through holistic and intensive case management, support groups, and resource connections. Survivors of trafficking and exploitation have experienced immense complex trauma, and it has been found that traditional methods of addressing the needs don’t always prove the most beneficial (Polaris Project & Sanar Wellness Institute, 2015; Williamson, Dutch & Clawson, 2010; Xiong, 2008). For that reason, this project focuses on utilizing creative expressions and equine-assisted therapeutic activities to positively impact the survivors’ journey. This was realized through a collaborative grant between R.I.S.E., Issue Box Theatre, The Expressive Therapies Center, and Serenity Farm Equestrian Center through the generosity of the Lucas County Human Trafficking Coalition. This presentation will cover the process of collaborating across four unique yet interconnected fields (social work, art therapy, theatre, and equine-assisted therapy) as well as how the clients themselves responded to the activities. First, each presenter will share a brief background of their area of expertise and how it provides healing to survivors of human trafficking and exploitation, using research to support their perspectives. Second, each presenter will share the experience of working with R.I.S.E. survivors as well as working in a collaborative fashion across disciplines. Then, the presenters will provide qualitative responses shared from the survivors who were part of this project. Finally, the presenters will give overall feedback as well as suggestions for those wishing to facilitate similar activities and collaborations.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss efficacy of art-based initiatives

·  Provide clarification on the differences between “therapeutic intervention” and “therapy”

·  Share responses of survivors to creative interventions and their process of imagining a brighter future

·  Present findings of evidence-based and best-practices related to creative interventions for survivors of trauma and trafficking

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Good intentions are the driving force behind current legislation and policies directed at helping those who are trafficked. However, by overlooking the voices of the most vulnerable, these seemingly progressive acts have unintended consequences, even making trafficking more likely. Using recent examples including FOSTA/SESTA, strip club legislation, and raids on sexual oriented businesses (SOB), the presenters will demonstrate how efforts to end trafficking often blur the lines between trafficking and sex work and end up perpetuating the problem we seek to eradicate. They will then discuss how activists can learn from these shortcomings and develop more inclusive policies that will genuinely work towards ending trafficking while still protecting people who perform consensual erotic labor.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Define sex work versus sex trafficking, the spectrum of agency within the sex trade, and criminalized, legalized, and decriminalized models for prostitution

·  Highlight various pieces of legislation targeting sex workers across the country

·  Provide examples of real abuse and exploitation happening in SOB, gentlemen’s clubs, and adult entertainment venues

·  Illustrate how decriminalization initiatives grant greater access to support, resources, and non-sex work economic opportunities

·  Offer suggestions to anti-trafficking advocates on ways to be inclusive toward sex workers when developing policy strategies, rescue interventions, and/or outreach

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This presentation will present findings from an extensive review of 33 case studies of suspected victims of human trafficking. These case studies spanned three states over the course of two years. Each case study was analyzed by two research fellows to identify initial themes. A second review was conducted by two research scientists and consensus was obtained on the four themes. They include patient characteristics, trafficker characteristics, process improvement and point of entry. The research team has defined patient characteristics as any detail about the appearance, personality or behavior of the potential human trafficking victim. This is similar to the definition for the theme of trafficker characteristics. Process improvement is defined as characteristics that describe the overall process from the time patients presented to the hospital until they were discharged. These could include failure to identify potential human trafficking victims, gaps in following protocol, and opportunities for improvement in the overall care of the patient. Lastly, Port of Entry is defined as the location of first contact with the patient. These findings will be used to help improve the identification and care of the HT victim.  Additional research studies have been planned as a result of these qualitative study, including a comprehensive analysis of the medical treatment that HT victims received.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss the common themes that emerged from the reviewed case studies and their impact on further research inquiries

·  Identify criteria that could be used to build a template for future case study audits

·  Identify areas of success and opportunities for improvement in the overall care of potential HT victims

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Sex trafficking and intimate partner violence (IPV) are global social justice issues in which vulnerable and marginalized individuals are harmed in significant and overlapping ways. The presenters analyzed the extant literature on sex trafficking and IPV and drew upon their own research with participants exiting sex trafficking through CATCH Court (Canning & Schultz, 2019; Schultz, Canning, & Eveleigh, 2018). This presentation is based on their mixed-methods findings. The presenters analyzed quantitative data based on participants (N = 60) enrolled in the Changing Actions to Change Habits (CATCH) Court in Franklin County, Ohio. Qualitative interviews with participants (N = 19) enrolled in the Changing Actions to Change Habits (CATCH) Court also provided insights based on participant completion of 90-minute life story interviews and life maps. Their findings revealed that abusive dynamics (e.g., coercive control, physical and sexual violence, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), and fatal injuries) are mirrored in both forms of interpersonal violence and that pimp and sex buyer abuse perpetrated against sex trafficked individuals is more accurately understood using an IPV lens. The intersections of coercive control and violence between sex trafficking and IPV calls for clinicians to provide trauma-informed therapy, and specifically an awareness of IPV, as they work with sex trafficked individuals.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss the dynamics of coercive control, physical and sexual violence, traumatic brain injuries experienced by survivors of sex trafficking

·  Discuss the dynamics of coercive control, physical and sexual violence, traumatic brain injuries experienced survivors of intimate partner violence

·  Explain counseling implications as a result of the comparable forms of abuse dynamics that characterize both sex trafficking and IPV

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Thus far, human trafficking research has primarily focused on qualitative studies, statistical estimations of prevalence, and insights generated from economic models. However, a variety of additional mathematical modeling and data analytic techniques also have the potential to help address the unique challenges facing anti-human trafficking efforts, including: the covertness of traffickers, the hidden nature of victim-survivors, fragmented data, and limited resources. This presentation will discuss ongoing transdisciplinary collaborations in this sphere and utilize multiple illustrative examples, including optimizing the allocation of a limited budget for rehabilitative shelters for human trafficking survivors and coordinating efforts to disrupt trafficking networks. Applications of such modeling approaches to other social justice contexts will also be briefly discussed. This presentation is designed to be accessible for all audiences, regardless of their familiarity with mathematical concepts.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Identify opportunities for mathematicians to aid service providers, policy makers, law enforcement personnel, and other researchers

·  Acknowledge challenges to modeling these environments

·  Highlight the benefits of incorporating mathematical models into the decision-making process through illustrative examples

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It’s wonderful that the world is awakening to the realization that slavery and trafficking in humans exist in our world today, but focusing on sex trafficking alone won’t help solve the problem. This workshop will offer a closer look at labor trafficking including forced labor, debt bondage, and involuntary domestic servitude. We will use case examples to discuss the complications in identifying and serving victims. At this workshop, attendees will learn how to recognize potential red flags and indicators of labor trafficking, understand the barriers that labor trafficking victims faced when accessing help, recognize the gaps in services for these vulnerable population, and understand immigration reliefs for victims. The presenter will also discuss the most effective practices to serve foreigner national labor human trafficking victims using trauma informed-care, cultural humility, and client-centered approach. Finally, the presenter will touch on how you as a consumer can fight human trafficking.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Describe different forms of human trafficking

·  Discuss how to identify victims

·  Explain barriers and gaps in social services

·  Discuss immigration reliefs and resources available

·  Identify the most effective practices using trauma-informed care, cultural humility and client-centered approach

·  Discuss the role of consumers in fighting labor human trafficking

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An often-overlooked part of healing for survivors of the sex trafficking is preparing their family members and loved ones for their return. The development of the Through the Eyes of a Parent program has provided tips and supportive tools for these family members. This session will offer tips, strategies and suggestions that have successfully contributed to re-integration. Survivors of the commercial sex trade often find it easier to return to the trafficker than to work through the challenges of navigating through returning to their families. Using a trauma informed approach, we must address the environment, emotional reactions, psychological impact and day to day practical survival involved in "coming home". Often survivors don't understand that their families are in shock, and families are uncertain of how to best help their loved one. Learn how to help them.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Explain the impact of reintegration on the survivors of sex trafficking

·  Explain the impact on the families and loves one of survivors of sex trafficking

·  Identify services needed to help with re-integration for survivors of sex trafficking

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Previous statistical analysis of state-level human trafficking reporting in the Polaris data has identified demographic, economic, and sociological drivers of human trafficking. This enables a prediction of the number of reported victims to be expected for each state. States with high-performing programs and practices for identifying victims have a higher reported rate than that predicted by demographic and socio-economic drivers alone. This study compares the legislative environment of higher performing states, such as Ohio, to those with fewer reported cases for the same expected underlying rate. In this way, insight is gained as to which legislative actions are more effective in identifying victims. For example, training of emergency room workers is a very effective practice, yet at least 37% states have no such requirement. A statistical model derives data-driven recommendations for which legislative actions have the largest effect in driving the reporting of human trafficking victims.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Identify and recommend legislative actions effective at identifying more human trafficking victims

·  Advocate for more research on data-driven recommendations to combat human trafficking

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This presentation seeks to illuminate challenges presented and barriers related to the language and images used in anti-human trafficking work and formulate a better way forward. Specifically, the presenters consider the ways in which the diverse identities of people involved in trafficking situations, anti-human trafficking advocates, and the historical backdrop of the United States interacts with and impacts anti-human trafficking efforts. The presenters will discuss how anti-human trafficking language, imagery, and stories often inadvertently subvert objectives by shaping and influencing thinking, actions, attitudes, and the treatment of others in a non-comprehensive way. For example, how the imagery, language, and stories associated with referring to human-trafficking as "modern day slavery" is void of appropriate societal context, ostracizes and can offend victims and advocates, and recasts antebellum slavery in a sanitized light while retelling the story of American slavery as a rescue mission. This one example is a preview of how the presenters expect to deconstruct linguistic and visual tools to raise awareness and initiate a discussion for a more effective approach. The elucidation of such challenges is the departure point from which presenters and audience members will engage to formulate less constricting terms and work towards resolving such issues. At the conclusion of this presentation, attendees should have a basic understanding of subversive anti-human trafficking language choices and be able to identify better, concrete, options moving forward that more effectively accomplish the goal of discussing human-trafficking.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Highlight issues surrounding the language and imagery used in anti-human trafficking work

·  Discuss ideas for how to reframe our experiences

·  Set concrete objectives for participants to use going forward

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According to the Prison Policy Initiative (2018), 219,000 women are behind bars in the U.S. The number of women locked up nationwide has been growing more than twice as fast as that of men since 1978. Moreover, incarcerated women tend to face greater disciplinary action than men and are offered inferior services, programming and facilities than men (Women’s Justice Institute, 2018). Attendees will learn about two programs directly supporting and advocating for incarcerated women. Chicago Books to Women in Prison (CBWP) distributes free books to women and trans/non-binary people in prisons nationwide. The grassroots organization provides a critical intervention by offering the self-empowerment, education and entertainment of reading to people with little or no access to books. The organization has integrated human trafficking education in its work, offering recommended books on human trafficking. CBWP uses the trust it has earned from the women it serves to help fight human trafficking. Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP) Behind Bars provides extensive support to incarcerated men, women and trans folks: newsletters, books, pen pals, scholarships, and reentry support, as well as a “toolkit” for donating books to county jails. They advocate for sex workers, who rarely receive the comprehensive support that would enable them to leave the industry if they choose. SWOP Behind Bars works to remove the stigma around sex work and thereby protect the human rights and dignity of women in it. By decriminalizing both the buying and selling of sex, efforts can better focus on those who truly need assistance.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Explain how books-to-prisoners programs fill a critical need for incarcerated people

·  Describe the role of books-to-prisoners programs in educating incarcerated people about human trafficking

·  Discuss the importance of supporting and advocating for sex workers, including those who are incarcerated and in reentry

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Victims of trafficking are presenting in healthcare settings, yet studies show that they often remain ‘hidden in plain sight’ in the hospitals and clinics because healthcare professionals don't know how to identify, respond, and safeguard them (Oram et al, 2016; Katsanis et al, 2019). Professionals may be blinkered to treating the physical injury but miss holistically assessing the individual and their potentially life-threatening situation. Crucial opportunities to empower and intervene in a survivor’s life are being lost. Trafficking survivors often feel unable to spontaneously disclose their abusive situation to health professionals due to complex, layered fears, threats, confusions and misunderstandings. However, to a sensitive professional, their speech, behavior, mental state and physical appearance may well give clues that something is wrong. If that attending health professional is then equipped to manage a potential slavery scenario safely and confidently, including tailored screening questions, techniques for removing suspicious accompanying individuals from the room without raising alarm and an understanding of next steps, the chance for a victim to be well supported greatly increases. This workshop will cover the reality of human trafficking and how it relates to healthcare, the approach and lessons learnt from the USA’s healthcare-led responses, and VITA’s plans to transform the assessment and care of modern slavery survivors in the UK National Health Service.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss how victims of trafficking may present in healthcare settings

·  Discuss what physical, mental, behavioural and other clues to trafficking may be disclosed or detected in the healthcare setting

·  Discuss what actions are appropriate and safe for a healthcare professional to take when a patient is a suspected modern slavery victim

·  Discuss existing training programs for healthcare professionals across the USA, drawing important lessons

·  Discuss the development and strategy of VITA training in the UK, identifying key recommendations for implementing a national training program

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Recently there have been concentrated efforts focusing on human trafficking prevention (ACF, 2016; Chang & Stoklosa, 2017). Current prevention efforts span various professional fields and expertise. Missing from prevention literature is the systematic inclusion of survivors’ through methodologically sound research (Murphy, Bennet, & Kottke, 2016). This study utilized Group Concept Mapping (GCM), a rigorous participatory mixed-method process adept in capturing stakeholder contributions, to explore human trafficking prevention. Having survivor contributions captured through rigorous research provides greater opportunities to utilize data. GCM draws upon a non-random, purposive sample of stakeholders: survivors of human trafficking (Kane & Trochim, 2007). Survivors are the originators of the data, determine the value of the data and identify ways in which the data should be presented and coalesced. Adult survivors of human trafficking (N=35) participated in brainstorming and rating/sorting sessions across three states. Survivors were asked to conceptualize human trafficking prevention. Results identified 10 distinct clusters, made up of 108 unique statements. Examples included: Education and Awareness, Social Services, and School Based Education. Survivor conceptualizations of prevention (statements) were also rated by participants across two variables, Importance and Feasibility. Participant ratings produced a high correlation between participants’ views of which data was important and which data was feasible (r = 0.91). Two significant outcomes of this study are the central focus on the inclusion and representation of survivors’ contributions and building an empirical knowledge base for preventing human trafficking. The analytical outputs are highly useful in influencing program development and modification. Dr. Justin “Jay” Miller, Associate Dean for Research & Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky, is a contributing author of this presentation.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Emphasize survivor integration in research conceptualizing prevention strategies

·  Discuss study findings and implications

·  Identify key areas for prevention initiatives

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As many of us working tirelessly toward ending human trafficking begin to move from “rescue and restore” models of intervention into more holistic, trauma-informed, empowerment models emphasizing safety and self-determination, harm reduction principles become increasingly important for us to understand and incorporate into our work. Harm reduction in sex trafficking prevention starts from the position that any steps toward a person’s safety are worth making, allowing for incremental improvement toward safety and self-determination rather than holding out on “rescue” as our primary indicator of success. In this workshop, attendees will learn harm reduction principles, why they are needed in our work in sex trafficking prevention and response, and how to incorporate them into outreach, direct service programs, and policy.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Identify the 8 principles of harm reduction as outlined by the Harm Reduction Coalition

·  Translate these principles from use in addressing substance use disorders to sex trafficking policy and response

·  Name 5 ways these principles might lead to more effective policy, outreach, and direct service programming for survivors of sex trafficking

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Psychosocial, human, and health services are seldom equipped to address the unique needs of people with lived experiences in the commercial sex trade (Aron, Sweig, & Newmark, 2006; Hemmings et al., 2016). A prominent issue is the struggles that people experience(d) to exit from the trade (Baker, Dalla, & Williamson; Reid & Piquero, 2014). The stigma associated with involvement in the trade often deters those caught up in it from services (Macy & Johns, 2011; Silver, Karakurt, & Boysen, 2015); a missed opportunity for providers to engage a population highly vulnerable to exploitation, violence, trafficking, prostitution and other forms of human rights violations. Hence, this presentation will describe a study whose primary objective is to better understand the challenges that people face to exit. Another study objective is to generate knowledge to inform best practices to work with people who are at different points of experience and relationship to the commercial sex trade: still in the sex trade; out of the sex trade; and with or without a history of cycling in and out of the sex trade. The team will discuss their preliminary findings in relation to the study objectives based on qualitative and quantitative data gathered across Massachusetts in 2018 from 50 interviews with adult participants who reported they had exchanged sex for something of value during their lifetime. The study participants are diverse by their age (18-34, 35%; 35-44, 45%; 55+, 20%);  gender (male, 14%; female, 84%, other 2%); race (Black & African American, 41%; White, 47%; other, 12%); ethnicity (12% Latino); sexual orientation (Heterosexual, 59%; Homosexual/Gay/Lesbian, 10%; Bisexual, 25%; other, 6%); income (51%, $12,000 or less); and childbearing status (74%, have children).

Presentation Objectives:

·  Discuss preliminary study findings related to participants' relationship to the commercial sex trade correlated across exiting status and measures involving spirituality, wellness, dissociation, PTSD, and Adverse Childhood Experiences

·  List potential practice applications of the data that may inform improved clinical and peer services to people with lived experience in the commercial sex trade

·  Engage attendees in helping the researchers identify how these preliminary findings might be helpful to better serve the population

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Numerous United Nations bodies, such as the Committee Against Torture, the Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, contend that it is a human rights violation to make survivor assistance contingent upon cooperation with law enforcement. The fact that the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act does so has been decried as placing an “onerous, discriminatory burden on alien victims” (Chakraborti, 2014). We will discuss this allegation in light of three factors: (1) that the objections to the TVPA’s Contingency Clause are utilitarian rather than based upon human rights, (2) that existent human rights law grants discretion to utilize some version of the Contingency Clause, and (3) that the history of human rights as well as international and regional practice implies a reciprocity of duties among rights-holders, which suggests the Contingency Clause may in fact be justified on the basis of human rights. Discussants will be asked to consider how contingency, if re-construed as reciprocity, affects the relationship between such (sometimes) competing therapeutic goals as enhancing autonomy and effecting a willingness to proactively serve other potential survivors.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Examine the claim that the TVPA's contingency requirement violates survivors' human rights

·  Describe international and regional human rights law regarding survivor services

·  Discuss the implications (e.g., for therapeutic goals) if contingency is compatible with human rights

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This session will explore sex trafficking and labor trafficking, including terms such as force, fraud, and coercion, as defined by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (the TVPA) and its reauthorizations, as well as cases decided under the TVPA. This session will also discuss immigration options available to undocumented survivors, including non-immigrant visas, derivative visas, permanent residence, and citizenship.

Presentation Objectives:

·  Explain how the law and cases define sex trafficking

·  Explain how the law and cases define labor trafficking

·  Discuss special challenges and unique options for undocumented immigrant survivors of sex trafficking and labor trafficking

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